Five Tips For Moving Into Your First Home

Buying your first home is a right of passage that can be both exciting and stressful. While it maybe a relief to wave good bye to your rental flat, having a mortgage and a home to maintain is a huge commitment.

Getting a mortgage has never been easy for first time buyers, but things could be looking brighter. According to the Independent, first-time buyer mortgages are up by a third.

If you are lucky enough to have secured your mortgage and are moving into your first home, here are five tips to ensure the process runs smoothly.

Clear out the clutter

Clearing out the clutter from you old home should be first on your agenda. Having fewer boxes to move, will make the process more straightforward and could save money on removal costs. You can use online auction sites or car boot sales to get rid of your unwanted items and you may even make a profit in the process.

Unpack room by room

After the excitement of moving, walking through the door to find yourself surrounded by a sea of boxes can bring you crashing back down to earth. You are likely to feel overwhelmed with the task ahead. Unpack boxes room by room, starting with the bedroom and make sure you know where the kettle is. This will ensure you have somewhere to sleep and can make a hot drink when exhaustion finally takes over.

Once you have unpacked and have your furniture arranged, you can start to plan what you need to do and prioritise the work. Do any rooms require updating and what is your budget? If you are keen on entertaining, you may prefer to start with the kitchen or dining room, or you may decide it is more important to tackle the bedroom first. Perhaps there are other, more pressing jobs that need doing, such as a boiler repairs or electrics.

Look for furniture bargains

Most first time buyers don’t have much money to spare but fortunately there are several furniture solutions for the more frugal. Free or second hand items can be sourced on freecycle or internet auction sites, which can then be freshened up with a coat of paint. You may even want to visit an Architectural Salvage Company like http://www.periodhomesni.com/ architectural salvage company who have an array of quirky antiques as brilliant prices.

Repair not replace

Tired kitchen cabinets can be instantly refreshed with a coat of paint and new door handles. In most rooms, small changes can be enough to add the wow factor, a faux fur throw on a sofa with scatter cushions, new lighting, wall stickers or wall art are inexpensive ways to make changes. For more tips check out The Guardian’s DIY guide.

Buying your first home is an exciting and liberating time, allowing you fly the parental nest or escape from untidy flatmates and unscrupulous landlords. While unpacking boxes and furnishing your home can seem a never ending chore, our tips will help to make things easier.

Making home improvements on a budget may require you to be creative, but it is also fun and guarantees that you can add your own individual stamp to your home.

Google recently changed its travel search user experience on mobile, leading some to say it is now harder to view search results. Here we outline the change and the implications for Google travel in the long term. read more

There are plenty of TV shows and fashion magazines telling women what essential pieces should feature in their wardrobes but what are the items that every man should have? For all dapper gents out there, there are some things that … read more

As well as creating a good impression, having a clean office can help increase productivity and well-being of workers, but it’s not always easy to keep a workspace looking neat, especially when you’re working to a deadline. Read on to … read more

When you think about famous celebrities, you’re more likely to think of their private jets, stunning houses or fleet of expensive cars than you are their bed. Well, when it comes to indulging in luxurious opulence, you can imagine that … read more

Facebook is still in full war against the fake news. If a month ago we anticipated that the social network would alert users that they were trying to publish content of dubious reliability, today thanks to TechCrunch we know that the social giant will show the … read more

If you’re a runner, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The date of that race that you signed up for months ago is getting closer and you have everything controlled: you have done your training to the letter, you have rested … read more

A recent international study has found that WordPress is on a par with Adobe Experience Manager in the enterprise CMS market. Image Credit The study, which was conducted by Manifesto and WP Engine, discovered that WordPress is an extremely popular … read more

At first glance when considering web design, the last thing you may think of is the humble button. It’s such a simple, integral component that can very easily be overlooked. To designers, however, buttons are a gateway to how people … read more